Polar bears with no snow: Climate change’s Alaskan devastation

Tune in to any TV news channel or walk into any pub – you’ll find them: climate change deniers. They’ll vary in age, ethnicity, and income bracket, but it doesn’t really matter anymore.

There’s no point to continue arguing if climate change is real or not. The changes happening in ecosystems all around us are undeniable. The elephant is already stomping around the room.

When photographer Patty Waymire visited Barter Island on the Arctic coast of Alaska, she was shocked at what greeted her. She timed her visit to catch polar bears in snow (late September to early October), but there was none.

“I was surprised when I arrived, to find there was no snow nor was the sea ice forming yet,” Waymire told The Huffington Post. “The locals told me that it was an unusually warm winter and that the snow would be late in arriving. It is one of the warmest winters on record.”

There are reports that suggest lack of ice for polar bears is a cause for concern, and this makes Waymire nervous for these animals and these landscapes that she holds close to her heart.

She’s hoping US President Donald Trump aligns himself with what Barack Obama started, and that it’s not too late. However, according to President Trump’s own statements, there’s little chance of that happening.